Gas purifier



April 24, 1934. R. RUEMELIN GAS PURIFIER Filed May 25, 1952 ATTORNEYQS.

INVENTOR.

BY ma@ 9(77401/M Patented Apr.

UNIT

PATENT QFFICE GAS PURIFIER Richard Ruemelin, Milwaukee, Wis.

Application May 23, 1932, Serial No. 612,879

6 Claims.

The present invention relates in general to improvements in the art of removing impurities and other undesirable substances from gases, and relates more specifically to an improved gas pu- 5 riiier for automatically removing solid and liquid particles from a stream of air or the like.

Generally defined, an object of the invention is to provide a fluid purifier which is simple and compact in construction and which is also highly efficient in operation.

Some of the mor e specific objects of the inven- To provide a gas purifier which is adapted for insertion in the path of a stream of gaseous fluid such as air, and which will automatically remove foreign matter such as moisture and solid particles from the gas.

To provide an air purifying device which may be readily manufactured and installed, and which is entirely automatic in operation.

To provide a new and useful device for separating heavier substances from relatively light fluids with the aid of centrifugal force and expansion acting upon the substances.

To provide a sep arating unit for removing im purities from compressed air or the like, all portions of which are tion and cleaning.

readily accessible for inspec- To provide various improvements in the details of construction of gas purifiers, whereby such devices may be readily constructed and sold at minimum cost.

These and other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description.

A clear concepti on of several embodiments of the invention and of the mode of constructing and of operating separators built in accordance therewith, may be had by referring to the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts in the various views:

Fig. 1 is a central vertical section through a gas cleaner for removing solid particles and moisture from compressed air or the like; Y

Fig. 2 is a transverse horizontal section through the gas cleaner of Fig. 1, taken along the line '1 -4; and

Fig. 5 is a trans verse vertical section through (Cl. 18S-113) cleaner comprises in general a single casting con- UK sisting of an upper substantially cylindrical body portion 8, a lower inverted cone portion 9 extending downwardly from the portion 8, a top closure 10 for the portion 8, a pair of symmetrical curved walls 11 depending from the closure 10 and ter- 65 minating in a splitter 12, and upper and lower barrier plates 13, 14 disposed in line with but remote from the splitter 12. The body portion 8 has an inlet pipe 15 communicating therewith in alinement with the splitter 12, and this inlet is in constant communication with curved passages 16 formed between the walls 11 and the body portion 8. The bodyv portion 8 also has a pure gas outlet pipe 17 communicating therewith through an extension pipe 18, both of the pipes 17, 18 being attached to a common union 19 and being disposed coaxial with the inlet pipe l5. A foreign matter discharge pipe'20 is attached to the lower end of the cone portion 9, and both the portions 8, 9 may be provided with 80 external radiating ns 21. The barrier plates 13, 14 are disposed radially of the casing portion 8 and beyond the discharge ends of the passages 16, and both the plates 13, 14 and the Walls of the passages 16 may be provided with substan- 85 tially vertical ridges or ribs 22, 23.

During normal operation of the gas cleaner illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the gas which may be compressed air, enters the casing portion 8 through the inlet pipe 15 and is divided into two 90 streams by the splitter 12. These streams flow through the passages 16 which gradually enlarge in the direction of travel, and thus have their velocity initially slightly reduced. As the streams emerge from the ends of the passages 16, they are delivered against the barrier plates 13, 14 and are diverted downwardly and forwardly while the velocity thereof is further reduced. The major portion of the gas then enters the free space 24 below the ends of the walls 11 while the remainder passes along the inner surfaces of these walls and into the extension pipe 18. The gas which enters the free space 24 within the casing portions 8, 9, eventually rises and also passes into the extension 105 pipe 18, and from thence through the outlet pipe 1'?.

During the initial ow of the gas through the passages 16, it encounters the ribs 23 in these passages, and particles of moisture such as oil 110 `splitter portion or water as well as some solid particles, lodge upon the ribs and how or drop downwardly to the bottoms of the passages 16. Due to the inclinations of the passage bottoms, these deposits are swept into the open space and drop toward the discharge pipe either freely or along the surfaces of the portions 8, 9. When the gas streams strike the barrier plates 13, 14, the ribs 22 likewise remove other foreign matter such as moisture and solid particles, and this removed substance also drops toward the discharge pipe 20. Upon delivery of the gas into the free space 24, its velocity is greatly reduced, and final removal of foreign matter is then effected by gravity,;after which the puriiied gas alone is delivered through the outlet pipe 17 as heretofore described.

Referring speciiically to the embodiment. of the invention illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, the gas purifier comprises in general a two-piece casing consisting of an upper substantially cylindrical body portion 28 having a lower inverted cone portion 29 formed integral therewith; and a top closure 30 having curved walls 3l, a splitter portion 32, a conduit wall 33, and a barrier plate 34 formed integral therewith.. The body portion 28 has an inlet pipe 35 communicating therewith in substantial alinement with the splitter portion 32, and the inlet is also in open communication with the passages 36 formed between the walls 31 and the portion 28. The body portion 28 also has a pure gas outlet pipe 37 communicating directly with the delivery end of the conduit formed by the wall 33 of the closure 3G, and the receiving end of this conduit is located between the walls 31 adjacent to a barrier 33 secured to the splitter portion 32. The barrier 38 is formed integral with the top closure 3G, and a series of barrier rods 39 which are also cast integral with the closure 30 are disposed in the spaces between the walls 31, 33. A foreign matter delivery pipe 40 is attached to the lower end of the cone portion 29, and the casing portions 23, 29 may be provided with external radiating ns 41. The barrier plate 34, barrier 38, barrier rods 39, and the walls of the passages 36 may also be provided with substantially vertical ribs 42, 43, 44, respectively, and the separating space 46 is rel- ,atively free from obstruction.

During normal operation of the gas puriiier illustrated inFigs. 3, 4 and 5, the gas, which may be compressed enters the casing portion 28 through the inlet pipe 35 and is divided by the 32 into two streams. These streams flow through the passages 36 which, due to their increasing cross-sectional area, initially reduce the velocity of the streams of air. As the streams emerge from the ends of the passages 36, they are delivered directly against the barrier plate 34 and against the sides of the con- Aduit wall 33 and are diverted downwardly and forwardly while the velocity thereof is further reduced. A small portion of the gas lows along the opopsite sides of the conduit wall 33 past the passes along the barrier rods 44 and barrier 38,

, eing subsequently delivered into the discharge conduit. All of the gas entering the conduit bounded by the wall 33 is finally delivered from the apparatus through the outlet pipe 37.

During the initial flow of the gas through the passages 36, it encounters the ribs 45 in these passages and particles of moisture as well as solid particles, are separated from the gas and are deposited upon the downwardly inclined bottoms of the passages 36, from whence they are discharged into the free space 46. When the streams/of gas-strike thebarrier wall 34, other moisture and solid particles are likewise removed by the ribs 42. The gas which encounters the barrier rods 39, also has moisture and solid particles removed by the ribs 44 on these rods, and final removal of moisture and solids is effected by thefribs 43 formed on the barrier 38. All of the solid. and moisture particles removed by the various `barriers, are eventually discharged through the free space 46 either directly or along the walls of the casing portions 28, 29 to the impurities discharge pipe 40 whichdelivers them from thevunit. Other heavy substances which escape the various barriers, are also precipitated toward the discharge pipe 40, by gravity, while the gas passes slowly through the enlarged space 46. Y

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the gas may be admitted to the inlets 15, 35 under pressure, or the ilow may be produced by creating a suction in the outlet pipes 17, 37. rlhe ns 41 serve to facilitate cooling of the gases passing through the units, and the barrier -ribs insure effective removal of substantially all of the moisture and solids from the gases.

The separating unit illustrated in Figs. l and 'i 2 vmay be readily constructed from a single casting by properly coring the interior. With the unit of Figs. 3, 4 and 5, considerable of the coring difliculty `is eliminated since this latter unit is formed of two separable pieces. The cover or closure 30 supports all of the barrier walls and ribs, and may be readily formed by casting without utilizing intricate cores. This is also true of the casing portions 23, 29 which cooperate with the closure 30 tocomplete the unit.

'The invention provides an extremely simple, compact and highly efficient gas purifying unit which may be utilized for numerous purposes. 'Either of the units speciiically described may be disposed within a pipe line which conducts gases ing to and from the units may be provided with '1.71"'

valves, if desired. The separation of the moisture and -solids is effected with the aid of centrifugal force cooperating with gravity, and the flowing gases will effectively prevent accumulation of -removed solids and moisture, in the apparatus. By utilizing the two inlet passages cooperating 4with a single barrier wall, the direction of ilow is effectively reversed and the velocity of incoming gases is quickly reduced so as to permit effective separation of liquid and solid particles by gravity in a zone of relative quiescence disposed beneath the outlet opening.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact details of construction and to the precise mode of operation herein shown and described, for various modications within the scope of the claims may occur to persons skilled in the art.

It is claimed and desired to secure by Letters Patent:-

CLI

1. A separator comprising, a casing forming a chamber having a free space at the lower portion thereof, means for admitting gas near one side of said casing and for conducting the gas in segregated streams around the upper portion of said chamber and for delivering said streams into said upper chamber portion near the opposite side of said casing, means for discharging the gas from the upper portion of said chamber at a point between said conducting means and forwardly of the delivery ends of the latter a suiiicient distance so that the direction of ow of the gases leaving said conducting means and entering said discharge means is reversed and said gas is compelled to iioW horizontally across and above said free chamber space, and means for discharging separated non-gaseous materials from the lower portion of said chamber.

2. A separator comprising, a casing forming a chamber having a free space at the lower portion thereof, means for admitting gas near one side of said casing and for conducting the gas in segregated streams around the upper portion of said chamber and for delivering said streams toward each other into said upper chamber portion near the opposite side of said casing, a baiile wall projecting into said chamber between the delivery ends of said conducting means, means for discharging the gas from the upper portion ci said chamber at a point between said conducting means and forwardly of the delivery ends of the latter a sufficient distance so that the direction of iiow or the gases leaving said conducting means and entering said discharge means is reversed and said gas is compelled to flow horizontally across and above said free chamber space, and means for discharging separated non-gaseous materials from the lower portion of said chamber.

3. A separator comprising, a casing forming a substantially circular chamber having a relatively large free space at the lower portion thereof, means for admitting gas near one side of said casing and for conducting the gas in segregated expanding arcuate streams around the upper portion of said chamber and for delivering said streams toward each other into said upper chamber portion near the opposite side of said casing above said free chamber portion, means for discharging the gas from said upper chamber portion beyond the center thereof and forwardly of the delivery ends of said conducting means a suflicient distance so that the direction of flow of the gases leaving said conducting means and entering said discharge means is reversed and said gas is compelled to flow horizontally across and above said free chamber space, and means for discharging separated non-gaseous material from the lower portion of said space.

4. A separator comprising, a casing forming a substantially circular chamber having a relatively large free space at the lower portion thereof, means for admitting gas near one side of said casing and for conducting the gas in segregated expanding arcuate streams around the upper portion of said chamber and for delivering said streams toward each other into said upper chamber portion near the opposite side of said casing above said free chamber portion, a baille wally projecting radially into said chamber between the delivery ends of said conducting means, means for discharging the gas from said upper chamber portion beyond the center thereof and forwardly of the delivery ends of said conducting means a sufficient distance so that the direction of flow of the gases leaving said conducting means and entering said discharge means is reversed and said gas is compelled to flow horizontally across and above said free chamber space, and means for discharging separated non-gaseous material from the lower portion oi said space.

5. A separator comprising, a casing forming a circular chamber, means for admitting gas to one side of the upper portion of said casing, means for discharging gas from the opposite side of the upper portion of said casing, means for discharging non-gaseous material from said chamber at the lower portion of said casing, a pair of walls spaced from and extending along the interior of said casing and around the upper portion of said chamber from a point directly adjacent said admission means to points adjacent to and on opposite sides of said gas discharge means, and a tubular element forming a conduit extending into said upper chamber portion between said Walls and forwardly of the discharge ends of the latter toa point beyond the center of said chamber.

6. A separator comprising, a casing forming a circular chamber, means for admitting gas to one side of the upper portion of said casing, means for discharging gas from the opposite side of the upper portion of said casing in horizontal alinement with the gas inlet, means for discharging non-gaseous material from said chamber at the lower portion of said casing, a pair of walls spaced from and extending along the interior of said casing and around the upper portion of said chamber from a point directly adjacent said admission means to points adjacent to and on opposite sides of said gas discharge means, a tubular element forming a conduit extending into said upper chamber portion between said walls and forwardly of the discharge ends of the latter to a point beyond the center of said Chamb r, and a baiile wall extending into said chamber in the same direction as said tubular element and projecting downwardly beyond the lower ends of said pair of walls.

RICHARD RUEMELIN.

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